BANGALORE,
APRIL 12.
The All-India Congress Committee General Secretary in charge of the Congress in the State, Vilasrao Deshmukh, says that the Congress will have no difficulty in retaining power in the State.

Addressing presspersons here on Monday, he said there was a good response from the people to the Congress campaign and it was well organised. The ground reality was in favour of the party and there was no problem in securing a majority in the Assembly. On the number of seats predicted for the Congress by various surveys, he said opinion polls were conducted in a limited way.

Referring to the Lok Sabha elections, he said the main concern for the party was to retain the number of seats it had won in the last elections. "The party's position is weak in Bidar and we want to improve it." Mr. Deshmukh denied that there was an anti-incumbency wave against the Congress in the State. The people were aware of the Congress Government's achievements and the mood was in favour of the party in the State, he added.

The Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, would address public meetings in Bijapur, Gulbarga, Chitradurga and Kolar on April 16. She would tour the State again on April 21 or 22, Mr. Deshmukh added.